Top Essential Tools To Better Manage Your Business

Being your own boss can mean being your own marketing department, public relations team or sales squad — you name it, small business owners often end up handling it themselves, at least at some point. With so many hats to wear, you need to make every second count.

Luckily, there are plenty of tools out there that can streamline tasks, boost productivity and, in sum, save lots of time and money. Most of these services are free, and all of them do a fantastic job addressing the everyday challenges that small business owners face. What’s not to love?

#SquareSpace - Build A Website

Squarespace makes beautiful products to help people with creative ideas succeed.
Their platform empowers millions of people — from individuals and local artists to entrepreneurs shaping the world’s most iconic businesses — to share their stories and create an impactful, stylish, and easy-to-manage online presence.

#BuildFire - Mobile App Builder (iOS & Android)

BuildFire is the leading mobile app development platform choice for businesses, organizations, individuals and resellers. With their intuitive system and highly responsive customer support, they help hundreds of businesses build mobile apps every day. With their aggressive development cycles and infinitely open architecture, they will be there to serve you both now and far into the future.

#FreshBooks - Cloud Accounting Software

FreshBooks know you went into business to pursue your passion and serve your customers - not to learn accounting. This is why they believe in executing extraordinary product and service experiences that helps save you time and get paid faster.

#MailChimp - Email Marketing Platform

Everyone starts small. But with the right resources, you can execute big plans. MailChimp’s features are powerful enough for Fortune 500 companies at a price point that works for anyone. You know your business. They will help you grow it.

#DropBox - File Hosting Service

Save files on your computer, then access them on your phone from the road. Everything you keep in Dropbox is synced automatically to all your devices.500 million people around the world use Dropbox to work the way they want, on any device, wherever they go. With 200,000 businesses on Dropbox Business, they are transforming everyday workflows and entire industries.

#MindMeister - Mind Mapping Software

MindMeister is an online mind mapping tool that lets you capture, develop and share ideas visually. More than 6 million people already use their award-winning mind map editor for brainstorming, note taking, project planning and tons of other creative tasks. MindMeister is completely web-based, which means there's no download and no updating! Whether you're working on Windows, Mac OS or Linux, you can always access your mind maps right inside the web-browser.

#PayPal - Payment System

PayPal is a worldwide online payments system that supports online money transfers and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods like checks and money orders. PayPal is one of the world's largest Internet payment companies. In 2015, 28% of the 4.9 billion payments we processed were made on a mobile device. With their 192 million active customer accounts, PayPal is a truly global payments platform that is available to people in more than 200 markets, allowing customers to get paid in more than 100 currencies, withdraw funds to their bank accounts in 56 currencies and hold balances in their PayPal accounts in 25 currencies.

#InVision - Web & Mobile Prototyping Tool

They help companies of all sizes unlock the power of design-driven product development. That's why teams at Evernote, Adobe, Airbnb, Salesforce, and many more fire up InVision every day. InVision gives teams the freedom to design, review, and user test products—all without a single line of code. With intuitive tools for prototyping, task management, and version control, it's your entire design process, all in one place.

#Google Analytics - Analytics Tool

Google Analytics is a freemium web analytics service that tracks and reports website traffic. Google launched the service in November 2005. Google Analytics is now the most widely used web analytics service on the Internet. Google Analytics is offered also in two additional versions: the subscription based Google Analytics 360, previously Google Analytics Premium, targeted at enterprise users and Google Analytics for Mobile Apps, an SDK that allows gathering usage data from iOS and Android Apps.

Which Social Media Should I Use For Business

Social media networks are fantastic resources for businesses of all sizes looking to promote their brands online. The platforms themselves are free to use, and they also have paid advertising options specifically for brands that want to reach even more new audiences. But just because your business should be on social media, that doesn't mean your business should be on every network. It's important that you choose and nurture the social platforms that work best for your business so that you don't spread yourself too thin.

If you want to create a successful social strategy, you need to familiarize yourself with how each network runs, the kinds of audiences you can reach and how your business can best use each platform. We profiled the top social media platforms so you can learn more about them and market your business better.

#Facebook

This is by far the biggest social media channel, with an estimate of 1.11 billion people using the site each month, 665 million active users each day, and generates up to 645 million local business page views per week, Facebook has proved that its popularity amongst users is here to stay. Facebook can be thought of as the “social” home for your business on the Internet. It’s a place people can go to leave a message, browse through business products and photos, or chat with you online.

With so many targeted potential customers, creating a business page is a must, but remember that it needs to be updated on a daily basis with not only promotional information, but engaging and interesting content as well. Know that this platform does need a considerable amount of human and financial resources (advertising), and, if done right, the benefits to your business will definately be seen.

#Twitter

Twitter is another social network where you can post mostly anything. With Twitter, you can share short (140 or fewer characters) text updates, along with videos, images, links, polls and more. You can also easily interact with other users by mentioning their usernames in your posts, so Twitter is a great way to quickly connect with people all around the world. (The platform has more than 320 million active users worldwide and is one of the top 10 websites in the United States.) Because of its wide reach, Twitter is not only a great way to market your business but also an effective channel for handling customer service. For example, if you maintain an active Twitter presence, customers who are also active on the platform will seek you out to express concerns or share their praise.

If you have interesting content, Twitter is also a great tool for quickly spreading the word. Retweeting and sharing other users' content is incredibly simple, hashtags help boost posts, and if a user with a lot of followers retweets you, your content has the potential to go viral. But with Twitter, it's important to remember to find balance — don't simply share your own links or media; make sure you are also sharing a lot of interesting, relevant content from other Twitter users and from around the Web so your audience doesn't think you only care about what your business is doing.

#Instagram

Instagram is a visual social media platform based entirely on photo and video posts. The network, which Facebook owns, has more than 400 million active users, many of whom post about food, art, travel, fashion and similar subjects. Instagram is distinguished by its unique filters and photo and video editing options. This platform, unlike the others, is almost entirely mobile (there is a Web version, but you can't take photos or create new posts on it, and other functions are limited as well).

Instagram is another platform where more artistic niches excel, so again, it may not be the best fit for your business, depending on your industry. If you want to succeed with Instagram, it's important that the person running your account has a good eye for detail and has at least basic photography skills, so that the photos and videos posted to your account are high-quality. And don't be discouraged if your industry is underrepresented on Instagram; if you can find the right hashtags to latch onto and can post intriguing photos, you will most likely make it work.

#Google+

Google+ has 359 million active users a month – far from the ghost town it is popularly believed to be. Many see Google+ as a combination of Twitter and Facebook, but its new features makes it a marketing paradise. The Hangouts, +1s and hashtags , if used properly, can result in a fantastic page popularity. Like Twitter and Facebook, this page needs to be updated; you need to be interactive with not only your own users, but other business pages as well.

Remember: Google+ is Google, which means great search engine results for your business! If you have a Google+ Page and someone searches for your business (despite if they follow you or not), your Google+ Page and its most recent posts will be displayed on the right side of their personal search results. These search ranking benefits makes Google+ an important social media site to consider for your business.

#Pinterest

This platform consists of digital bulletin boards where users can save and display content they like in the form of pins. Users create and organize their boards by category. So, for example, as a personal user, one might have a board dedicated to food, where they pin recipes; another board dedicated to photography they find interesting; and so on. Pinterest is very visually oriented (every post has to be an image or video), and like Facebook, it is also fairly low-maintenance in terms of post frequency. However, keeping your boards organized and search-friendly can be time-consuming.

Pinterest is also more of a niche network than Facebook or Twitter, so it may not work for everyone. Pinterest's users are primarily women, and popular categories on the site are DIY projects, fashion, exercise, beauty, photography and food. That's not to say that businesses outside of these categories can't succeed on the platform, but it does make it a great marketing tool for businesses that do work in those areas. If you can find ways to connect your content to Pinterest's audience, then go for it. The platform also has a series of special types of pins called Rich Pins, which brands can use to add special information to their pins, like product details and even location maps.

#LinkedIN

Linkedin is the largest social media network for business people and professionals but most small business owners still don’t have it on their marketing radar. Business owners are now realizing the value of this site and the opportunities to build relationships and sales leads. There are over 230 million LinkedIn users and 2.7 million business pages already on LinkedIn. Note that LinkedIn is more serious in nature compared to Facebook and Twitter. Approach this social media channel more seriously and assume that the users will want serious, professional and informative information.

One of the most powerful features of Linkedin is “Linkedin Groups” which provide a place for professionals in the same industry or with similar interests to start and participate in a discussion within a Group. You can share content, find answers, post and view jobs, make business contacts, and establish yourself as industry experts. Groups can have a hundred to thousands of members, so the exposure is significant.

#YouTube

This social media channel is the most popular video oriented site and has an estimate of over 1 billion unique visitors every month, with over 100 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute. A huge factor to note with YouTube is that (1) it’s the second largest search engine after Google (not Yahoo or Bing!). So, having content here that is optimized to be found by someone looking for your product, service, or niche can have enormous benefits; and (2) YouTube is owned by Google! When it comes to boosting your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) ranking, videos are over 50 times more likely to appear on the first page of search results as part of the blended results that Google now shows.

But the YouTube market is competitive. It really is a social media channel to choose if you have value videos that invite engagement, sharing and that users will enjoy. If your business can visually show how their services, products and employees are different from all the rest out there, this social media channel is a winner. Note the costs and human resources involved in producing good, valuable videos before signing your business up.

#Tumblr

Tumblr is arguably the most difficult social media platform to use as a business, but it's also one of the most interesting networks. Tumblr allows several different post formats — including text posts, chat posts, quote posts, audio posts, photo posts and video posts — so you're not limited as to what kind of content you can share. As with Twitter, reblogging (reposting other users' content) is very quick and easy, so if a user with a lot of followers shares your content, it's possible to go viral fairly quickly. However, what sets Tumblr apart more than anything is its audience, which is less like a pool of users and more like one big tight-knit community full of smaller subcommunities.

Tumblr currently hosts more than 200 million blogs, and the majority of these blogs are run by young people (half of Tumblr's visitor base is under age 25). But this means that businesses that don't cater to young people's interests or aren't relatable to young people in some way are not poised for success on the network. The good news is, there's a subcommunity or fandom for almost every niche and interest you can think of, so a successful marketing campaign is possible if you use Tumblr correctly.

#Foursquare

This is only for a business that hav a brick and motar location – a restaurant, hair salon, spa – are good examples. Major updates have breathed new life into this social media channel, but there is still a debate whether Foursquare has a future or not, which makes it a tricky platform to invest in. There are 40 million users and 1.3 million businesses on Foursquare and local businesses canstill leverage this network to build their customer base with new prospects and reward their most loyal customers.

People use Foursquare to check into locations they’ve visited by using the app on their mobile phones. Once they’ve checked into a location, it can be shared with their Foursquare friends, Facebook friends and Twitter followers. This is where businesses on Foursquare benefit from being on the platform because users’ friends see where they’re checking in to eat, shop, have fun and more, which could possibly influence them to do the same based on the recommendations of their trusted connections.Interaction and real-time content is great when people write reviews, recommend and talk about your business, but know that you must join the conversation, interact, post images and reward customers in order to be successful on this platform.

#Question

Which social media platform do you use for your business?

Business Success Tips for Startups and Small Businesses

Toying around with the idea of starting a company? Worried about things that may go wrong or making the wrong decisions? Did you just start a company but are concerned about how you are doing things? You are not alone, and you definitely are not in unchartered waters.

There are not only many thousands of people just like you who are working on starting their own company or have just launched their company, but there have been thousands of people who were once in your shoes who’ve gone on to grow some wildly successful companies, many of which you probably have heard of or even use on the regular basis.

#Talk to People

It sounds like a given, but a lot of first-time startup founders are actually pretty timid when it comes to putting their ideas out there, either because they don’t want to risk other people stealing them or they fear fellow entrepreneurs will think they’re foolish.

But without talking to people—customers, advisors, experts, potential investors, and the media—you won’t be able to get the feedback you need to make your idea better. The more you talk it through with different types of people, the easier it is to refine it and produce something that will truly resonate with your customers. Your customers’ feedback can help you work through any bugs or imperfections.

#Right Name

You want people to remember your name (be able to recall it). The more readily your name can be recalled, the easier it is for you to expand your reach to users/customers/investors.

In order for a name to be memorable, it should be unambiguous and somehow distinctive. If it sounds like many other names out there, people are not going to recall it (or if they do recall it, they're not going to recall the right one).

So, how do you know if your name is memorable? You don't. That's why you need to test it. Tell people your company name in various contexts (on a website, in an email, in person, on the phone, etc.) — and see if they can recall it a few minutes or a few days later. It takes a bit of work, but it's worth it. The good news is that if your name is not memorable, it'll show up in the data pretty quickly. And, as disheartening is that the name you love just doesn't test well — better to know now than years from now when you have a bunch of equity (emotional and otherwise) invested in it.

What makes a name simple?

1. quicker to type-in (especially on mobile)
2. easier to spell-out to someone over the phone
3. more efficient to include in a tweet (or other “length constrained” channels)
4. simpler to come up with a logo for
5. less likely to be acronymized or otherwise shortened by others

#Choosing The Right Market

It’s easy for startup founders to believe the whole world will love their products. After all, founders eat, sleep and breathe their products. The reality is that only a small portion of the population is interested in your product.

If you try to market your startup to everyone, you waste both time and money. The key is to identify a niche target market and go after market share aggressively.

How do you choose the right market?

1. Market Size – Are you targeting a regional demographic? Female? Children? Age? Know exactly how many potential customers are in your target market.
2. Market Wealth – Does this market have the money to spend on your product?
3. Market Competition – Is the market saturated? As in, are their many competitors?
4. Value Proposition – Is your value proposition unique enough to cut thru the noise?

#Make Customers A High Priority

Though it should go without saying, your customers keep you in business, which means that customer service should be at the top of your priorities. But customers can do more for your business than make purchases. They can also help you to improve your products and services so that your business can thrive. By listening to customer feedback, you too can learn the best ways to improve your products and services to meet your customers' needs.

#Location Still Matters

Even though more businesses are starting out online, your physical location can still be an important factor in the success of your business. If you plan to set up a physical shop, you'll need to go where your target audience is. If you plan to set up an online store, you still need to consider your location, at least for networking and economy purposes.

Here are few questions that can help you decide on the best retail location for your business.

1. Is the facility located in an area zoned for your type of business?
2. Is the facility large enough for your business? Does it offer room for all the retail, office, storage or workroom space you need?
3. Do people you want for customers live nearby? Is the population density of the area sufficient for your sales needs?
4. If you choose a location that's relatively remote from your customer base, will you be able to afford the higher advertising expenses?
5. Is the facility consistent with the image you'd like to maintain?
6. Are neighboring businesses likely to attract customers who will also patronize your business?
7. Are there any competitors located close to the facility? If so, can you compete with them successfully?

#Social Media

Startups tend to choose the social media networks they engage on without much strategy. The two most common mistakes are trying to master every network and trying to master certain networks just because the competition is doing it. If all of your competitors are on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, you should be too, right? Maybe, but maybe not.

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Reddit, Pinterest and now Instagram, are some of the most popular social networks today. All of them can be great content promotion and community building tools, but they all have unique characteristics. Facebook, for example, is typically powered by your existing customers who enjoy visual posts like pictures and video. Twitter, on the other hand, is often powered by potential customers who respond well to links (e.g. blog links).

Each social network ‘works’ differently, as in, how the community takes, interprets and digests your sharing and content varies. Reddit is often referred to as a very guarded network and detests spammers. Unlike twitter, here you can’t just schedule various messages every day. You can’t just jump on, run some ads and expect people to upvote all your content. Be mindful of the network and community you are trying to reach, it may not be in the social space you first thought.

#Budget

At the end of the day, it all comes down to the money. How much can you afford to spend on your startup marketing strategy? Remember that while inbound marketing leads cost 61% less than outbound marketing leads, they are not free. Set a budget early in the game and accept that limitation.

57% of startup marketing managers are not basing their marketing budgets on any ROI analysis.

More importantly, carefully plan how you intend to divide that budget. Maybe your blog has been your most powerful tool to date and you want to invest 40% of the budget on it. Or maybe you want to spend 35% of the budget to develop a new eBook or online course. Just be sure you have the logistics settled before you start spending (or you might just lose your hat).